to the sound of 'welcome home'
by tentacleboye
Summary: Sometimes being a hero means contradicting the very meaning of the word. (The journey ahead is a long one; Kageyama doesn't know if he can make it, but for the sake of a certain hero he is willing to give his all.)


There was a sound.

Oikawa flinched, almost letting go of the metal staff in his hands. His palms were sweaty. Every breath only served to push the boy to the edge of hyperventilation. He was too loud, way too _loud_ ; surely the creature would be able to track him down by now.

Beside Oikawa, Iwaizumi whispered, "Ushijima will be here soon." When Oikawa turned to him his frown deepened, "You alright?"

Just hearing Iwaizumi's voice calmed him down. _You are not alone_ , Oikawa thought to himself. He realised that Iwaizumi was still waiting for an answer. "Yeah," he told the other, careful to avert his eyes from a sleeve stained red. _Stupid Iwa-chan, worry about yourself first!_

When Iwaizumi gave him a pensive stare, he continued, "The sound must've have been the wind, it's evening; it must've been the evening breeze." _We just couldn't feel it behind this huge boulder, but surely there was wind, I mean, what else could it be, right?_ He had a pretty good idea of 'what else', but he'd rather not think about that.

Oikawa spared his sidekick a glance in the light of the setting sun. Foliage from above scattered fragmented hues of gold over the other boy's form, and even as Iwaizumi grimaced, a hand testing his would, Oikawa could see grim determination on his ashen face. Blood seeped through the fabric and crept down a limp arm. The smell of rust was in the air, and he knew that it did not come from his staff. It was apparent that the fight wore Iwaizumi down to exhaustion. If not, he could've conjured up a barrier to act as a temporary blood clot.

That fight earlier, could it even be considered one in the first place? Oikawa was just holding his staff confidently, the silver rod coming to life with the crackle of electricity, when the creature charged. Electricity had no effect on its body made of rocks. If not for Iwaizumi, Oikawa knew he'd be missing a limb or two from that attack. As they sprinted through the jungle the creature spewed sharpened pieces of rocks at them. One caught Iwaizumi on his left shoulder when he turned to set up a barrier.

It was no good—the creature smashed it in mere seconds, but Iwaizumi continued until he was about to pass out from dizziness. They found a boulder where they could hide for the time being. While Iwaizumi tended to his shoulder, Oikawa kept a lookout. _Not that my powers can be of much use,_ he scoffed internally.

As if sensing the bitter thoughts, Iwaizumi said, "It was pure bad luck we've been assigned to this mission; don't beat yourself up over it." He looked as though he had more to say, but instead gave a small shake of head, sighed, and went back to prodding at the wound. Oikawa saw a flicker of blue over the sleeve, which must be a barrier to stem the blood flow. _Iwa-chan's recovering_ , he noted, relieved.

They just had to hold on for a bit longer, help was on the way. As the last ray of sunlight vanished, a shiver caught Oikawa by surprise. He had the vague feeling that they were being watched, and, unable to brush it aside as paranoia had barely opened his mouth when the trees in front of them erupted into chaos.

"DODGE!" he screamed, although there was not a need for that—they were both skilled enough to survive. Oikawa caught a glimpse of a dozen spikes embedding themselves in the boulder before a monstrous roar shook him back to the present. He called out to Iwaizumi and made sure the other was alright.

They ran.

Oikawa could feel the creature behind them, the ground thumping with every step the monstrous beast took. He deflected the lethal projectiles when he could, and dodged when he couldn't. One caught his calf and he fell, a scream making its way up his throat.

The monster was even more hideous up front, two empty holes boring into Oikawa like eyes. When it shifted, fragments of rocks and pebbles rained down on the ground below.

Oikawa rolled to his right just as a fist slammed down inches away, revealing his precious, flattened staff as it withdrew. Iwaizumi shouted something. Before Oikawa could make out what it was, a blinding explosion of royal purple on the monster invaded his eyes. Oh, he'd recognise _that_ shade of colour anywhere.

 _Seems like Ushijima Wakatoshi is here_.

It was the most terrible feeling to see your greatest rival take over your mission. The pain was a different one from when Iwaizumi got hurt, or when they had a fight. No, the feeling was ugly, a boiling pot of jealousy and anguish and helplessness on the brink of tipping over. Oikawa couldn't suppress the strong lash of emotions suddenly rearing its head, and in those mere seconds of raw pain he let down his guard.

It was much too late when he registered the attack, and the last thing he saw before blacking out was a giant fist where his left leg used to be.


End file.
